Could it really be that people would actually go out and spend money on GPS, in the hope of saving $$$ on fuel, when they have no money to spend because of bad economy and high gas prices? Or is it just simply because GPS is becoming more popular nowadays, without the fuel cost being a factor?

Does GPS save fuel expenses so much? ALK thinks so:

Quote:

Princeton, New Jersey - May 22, 2008 - ALK Technologies, the leading worldwide developer of GPS navigation and navigation-based services for businesses and consumers, today announced a recent spike in CoPilot Live sales attributed to rising fuel prices.

With gas prices forecast to climb to beyond $4.00 per gallon and recessionary worries fueling consumer uncertainty, ALK has noticed a trend: more motorists are navigating new routes using GPS navigation systems to off-set fuel costs of both personal and business travel.

“Minimizing the distance means minimizing fuel costs – less is more,” said Sue Weil, New Jersey area hockey mom, who travels to ice hockey games on weekends with her son. She just traded in her Cadillac Escalade for a more economical vehicle. “I was paying nearly a hundred dollars to fill the tank of my Escalade. It was a real gas guzzler. Even with my new car, I can’t afford to get lost. I’m really dependent on my CoPilot Live, now more than ever”.

CoPilot Live includes many options to assist with planning business and vacation road trips. Routing options include a shortest mileage option, a shortest time option, and a toll road avoidance option. Routes can be previewed ahead of time to ensure that they go the way the driver wants to go. Gas stations can be selected along the route to minimize stop time and for savings along the way. Hotels and attractions can be selected by searching within the radius of a location or by proximity to the route of travel, further minimizing the number of miles driven. And accurate estimated drive times and estimated times of arrival allow drivers to plan their trips according to time of day to minimize time spent stuck in traffic and avoid rush hour congestion.

Boyle’s Catering in Philadelphia, PA, is feeling the heat of rising fuel and food costs. “We strategically plan shopping and delivery routes with CoPilot Live to avoid excessive use of fuel. So far we’ve avoided adding a fuel surcharge,” said Pat Boyle. “But if gas prices reach $4.00 plus a gallon as predicted then we may not have a choice.”

ALK offers CoPilot Live at a special value of only $199 for a complete turn-by-turn voice-guided GPS navigation system for your Windows Mobile smartphone or Pocket PC. CoPilot Live GPS Navigation includes premium CoPilot Live GPS Navigation software, updated North American map data, an advanced Bluetooth GPS receiver, GPS power cord and car-mount kit. It also includes a web-based advanced trip planning utility, CoPilot Central; and users have the option to purchase additional navigation-based services like feeds for real-time traffic, real-time points of interest, celebrity voices, and map updates.

“We’ve researched several vacation destinations that are closer to home, all within a 200-mile radius of our address. The decrease in drive time will help keep fuel costs down so we can afford an extra day at the resort,” said Ryan Lumbatis, of Willow Grove, PA. “We’re planning to bring CoPilot Live with us to avoid unexpected traffic jams and detours. A snag like that will definitely cost you now.”

CoPilot Live includes over 6 million travel-related points of interest (POIs) from our premium POI supplier, infoUSA. CoPilot Live POI categories include gas stations, hotels, banks, parks, resorts, attractions and recreational facilities of all sorts.

About ALK Technologies, Inc.
Since 1979, ALK Technologies has developed innovative mobile navigation and transportation technology solutions. ALK's award-winning CoPilot Live GPS software is the navigation based services platform of choice for mobile operators, hardware OEMs and systems integrators globally. ALK's PC*MILER routing, mileage and mapping solutions are used by over 22,000 transportation, logistics and manufacturing companies worldwide.

malaki86

Heh - $4.00/gallon - I bet my company would LOVE to see $4.00/gallon for Diesel. I paid $4.69/gallon in Virginia yesterday, drove to our terminal and put in $4.82/gallon (at our own shop).

Marvin Hlavac

Here, around Toronto, diesel costs $1.41 per litre. Multiply that by 4, and you get $5.64/gallon .